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Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

Differentiated by deep, broad management experience in workflow process consulting for corporations and Non-Profits. Effective and affordable solutions doing exactly what you need and no more than what you need. Extensive pre-built solutions such as HR Management, and most Non-profit functions.

Customer Reviews: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

Displaying 24 of 24 Reviews

24 Reviews

Average Customer Review

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Data Management

By
Mona Peglow of Good Shepard |
January 13, 2015

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

Keeping up with the minimum data entry needs for a large bi-lingual parish was a challenge. We were using a software application that was designed for Catholic churches, another retail app for event scheduling and we were also using numerous excel spreadsheets and multiple function specific databases. This solution was not meeting our business needs.
Everything is connected. We needed more value from our data and consequently our processes needed to share and optimize information. With this understanding we prioritized some goals:
- Improve reporting and report processes,
- Streamline data entry,
- Reduce the number of databases we were maintaining, and
- Prepare for a future capital campaign (donor management).
Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Alexandria, Virginia partnered with Cullen Coates of Crystal Bay Solutions in 2010 to help us identify and accomplish our content management goals and objectives. It was a great experience. A key value of partnering with Cullen was his approach to strategy and planning discussions that resulted in a plan / direction to unify and integrate data collection through much of the business operation (of the parish) using the QuickBase technology.
The QuickBase solution enabled us to capture, categorize and maintain data in new and different ways. For example, the ability to add additional fields and define the type of field enabled us to improve our management of programs; performance tracking and measuring outcomes.
There were times, as the database evolved, that we needed to add functionality requiring more complex programming. Cullen's alliance with developers (that provided this support) was another value-add.
Cullen has good communication / interaction skills. He listens for understanding. He was available when we needed him and he was committed to providing excellent customer service. We accomplished our goals.
Mona Peglow
- former Director of Development at Good Shepherd

High quality deliverables, exceptional service

By
Michael J. Hassid of StudentsFirst |
December 07, 2014

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

StudentsFirst retained Crystal Bay to help implement a purchase order management tool. Sounds simple, right? In fact, procurement, for us, is a complex process involving our Finance and Legal teams and several types of approval workflows. Crystal Bay didn't just deliver a solution, they took the time to work with us to hone and streamline our business process to provide a solution optimized for our particular business needs. I recommend them without reservation and look forward to working with them on future projects.

Way above and beyond

By
Laura Darling of Episcopal Senior Communities |
November 16, 2014

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

I cannot tell you how fortunate we feel to be working with Crystal Bay Solutions. They have been so patient in working with us to get our reporting exactly right, and have spent a great deal of extra time talking with our program leaders to ensure that they get the functionality they need.
This is a truly customized program for our division, one that will help us immensely in our reporting and, I'm certain, in developing future funding. We are very grateful for all they have done.

Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

By
Diane Welker of Laran Bronze, Inc. |
October 28, 2014

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

We were introduced to Crystal Bay Solutions to help us implement a relatively complex production management system that would handle many product variations yet have a simple enough interface that shop floor personnel could inquire and update production progress rapidly using iPad tablets. We also needed some other functionality such as timesheet tracking and estimating as well as estimating new jobs.
Crystal Bay has extensive management experience and knowledge of how businesses operate. This experience helped them do a great job of looking beyond what we thought were our initial needs and anticipate things that probably would have become problems later on if we hadn't identified them up front. While the requirements discussions sometimes were lengthy, they proved well worth it as the resulting application thoroughly addresses all our operational needs.
Their strengths are their ability to manage complex issues with patience and tact (extremely important as you define requirements), problem solving and critical thinking, attention to detail, reliability and quick response. I highly recommend Crystal Bay for any QuickBase development work.

Very smart and easy to work with

By
Devin Angus of OriginOil, Inc |
October 07, 2014

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

I had a great experience working with Crystal Bay. We had a lot of what I considered confusing aspects to what I wanted and they were able to implement everything exactly as I wanted, and help me understand things in a much simpler way. Will continue to use their services, and highly recommended!

Top Notch QuickBase Consultant

By
Patricia D'lima |
April 08, 2014

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

I have worked with Cullen/Crystal Bay Solutions for over two years where he was the sole Quickbase expert on a critical, enterprise wide application. Cullen is one of those rare professionals that go above and beyond every single time to ensure he exceeds client expectations. His problem solving and critical thinking skills are second to none. Among his many strengths are his attention to detail, dependability, strong understanding of business processes and ability to manage problematic, complex issues with patience and tact. In addition , Cullen possesses remarkable interpersonal skills and a great work ethic making him an absolute delight to work with.
He has worked at odd hours (with our teams being on different time zones) with swift turnaround time. As a Quickbase expert, he stands among the best in the industry with deep knowledge of the platform's capabilities; Cullen is known to keep abreast with new, emerging technologies and industry trends making him a strong asset to any organization. He has also consistently implemented large scale projects on time and within budget.
I highly recommend Cullen/Crystal Bay Solutions, unreservedly, for any QuickBase development and/or consulting role.

Custom HR Appplication

By
Mark Edward Wilson of Envision Sales Inc |
January 15, 2014

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

We worked with Crystal Bay on a customized version of their HR application. Tbe project was successful as it was delivered on time, on budget and the application works exactly as we had mapped out. Crystal Bay were great to deal with and were very patient and helpful. I would not hesitate to recommend them to other quickbase users.
Mark Wilson
EVP, Envision Sales Inc

Thanks Cullen!

By
Rachel |
October 01, 2013

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

I highly recommend Cullen Coates at Crystal Bay Solutions! Cullen worked persistently to make changes to my non-profit's database that allow us to better quantify the work we do. He is incredibly competent with QuickBase, and he patiently dealt with challenges as the arose.

Yes Sir

By
Jason T of Pauly Rogers and Co |
June 24, 2013

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

This worked out for us. We tried working out our database on our own for a while, but there were some complicated things that were beyond us. Cullen stepped in and got things straightened out, and even gave us some above-and-beyond advice to help us correct our architecture to avoid future problems that would have given us some serious headaches. We'll be back for future projects.

Small Nonprofit

By
Frank Kelly of AREA |
November 22, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

Cullen was able to provide us with a quick setup for a membership management system we could never outgrow. We have been up and running for two years now, and are able to capture new contacts off our website directly into our database from our outreach programs. Cullen is easy to work with, and so is the application.

Virtual Business Management

By
TOM SERLETH of PowerTransitions |
November 15, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

My business model changed from a central office to a decentralized operation with staff working from home offices. Crystal Bay developed a solution that enabled me to quickly send out client assignments to each staff consultant. Once the assignment was completed, the consultant entered a summary of what happened and the amount of time spent with the client along with any expenses incurred. This enabled me to develop activity reports and keep track of where clients were in our process. It also provided me with the information needed to pay my consultants. When questions arose about the system, Cullen was easily reached and quickly explained the situation or resolved the problem. I couldn't be happier.

Application Development

By
Misti Parr of RPS Group |
November 15, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

I have worked with Crystal Bay Solutions for the past two years developing health,safety, environmental and quality management tracking systems. I have been extremely pleased with the work product, prompt support, and creativity of design for the applications developed. Crystal Bay Solutions has certainly been a key contributor to my success.

Cullen Coates Extraordinaire

By
Cheri Haganey of BridgeWorks, Inc. |
April 29, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

I had the good fortune of being introduced to Cullen Coates several years ago. He designed and constructed a clean application for us to begin building historical relationships. Cullen is the most knowledgeable professional in Quickbase I have ever met and his bedside manner helped to ease the pain each time I ventured into places I should have stayed out of. Cullen made sure that the foundation was solid and there was always a backup!

Data Management or How to herd Ducks !

By
Shannon Nabors of Episcopal Community Services of America |
April 29, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

Our data management needs had been like herding ducks!, But Crystal Bay Solutions and QuickBase were the answer. We have many stakeholders who all needed to input, update, change and review the data, QuickBase/Crystal Bay Solutions gives us all the tools we need for users of all levels of skills. It has allowed us to put all of our ducks in a row and to really use our data, instead of not knowing what we had or what to do with that knowledge.

Partnering for Non-Profits -Cullen Coates

By
Lorie of American Camellia Society |
April 29, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

Thanks to the collaboration and excellent knowledge of QuickBase through our consultant, we were able to transition easily our contacts into an application that helps us manage donations, membership dues records, and much more. Additionally, QuickBase now helps us to manage our collection of botanical garden plants, including implementation of signage by exportation of specific fields from the database program. Cullen was responsible for helping our organization create strategic planning, membership management, and the maintenance of plants and equipment. He also made follow up contacts to help us upgrade or tweek the applications whenever we needed it. Now, as the person responsible for managing all external and internal contacts, I'm very pleased that I can now create and generate reports and other relative documents in more than half the time that it used to take with our previous applications from another company. Thanks a million, Cullen!

Crystal Bay Solutions

By
Theresa |
April 12, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

Cullen at Crystal Bay Solutions was great to work with. He was always pleasant and willing to spend time explaining the ins and outs of the application. Whenever a question would arise, Cullen would spend as much time as was needed to help us solve the problem. The implementation of our application went smoothly, thanks in large part to the patience and expertise of Crystal Bay Solutions.

Highly Recommend!

By
Norm Zablocki |
April 12, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

Crystal Bay Solutions was able to quickly implement a powerful and fully-integrated workflow management solution to meet our organizational needs in a very short timeframe. We appreciate their dedication, attention to detail, and customer service  we highly recommend their services!

QuickBase development for non-profit

By
Steve McCoy-Thompson |
April 12, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

Cullen did excellent work in both scoping and developing a highly cost effective solution for our small non profit organization. I would recommend his work to anyone.

Exceptional, personal service

By
Gregg |
April 12, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

You will love the way the folks at Crystal Bay Solutions listen and learn about your business, and then combine that with their knowledge and expertise about business and process automation and Quickbase. You probably already have ideas about how you can use Quickbase to save time and money in your business...and Crystal Bay Solutions will show you additional ways to use Quickbase to save time and money that will probably have a dramatic impact on your bottom line.

Crystal Bay Solutions Stepped up for Us

By
Jay Colbert |
April 04, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

We had a very complex database application that was beyond our ability to complete in a timely manner on our own so we turned to Cullen at Crystal Bay Solutions. Cullen was very professional and responsive in his interactions with us and proved to be very flexible with his work and scheduling. We had many revisions during our development, but Cullen remained completely patient with us all the way until the project was closed out. We will certainly be turning to Cullen again in the future the next time the opportunity arises.

Dynamic, Customizable, and Personal

By
Jessica |
April 04, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

QuickBase allows us to use data in a way that tells our story. It is easily customizable, so we can track and emphasize the data that is valuable to us, rather than having to fit into a pre-conceived box. The data is dynamic; we can see how members are interacting with one another, as opposed to just a chronology of a single members activities. QuickBase reports are simple to construct, and the customizable reports and roles allow each user to get the data that is most useful to them.

Great application and spectacular service

By
Jen Simonson |
April 04, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

Cullen Coates at Crystal Bay Solutions created the perfect application to fit our needs and the service and assistance we received were exceptional. Should we ever find ourselves in need of developing any additional applications, I wouldn't hesitate to contact Cullen.

Integrity, Very Knowledgeable, Great Solution

By
Sheila Kilbride |
April 04, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

I built the first revision of QuickBase. As the company grew, I needed a more sophisticated QuickBase, and building it was beyond my capabilities. So, I worked with a couple consultants and ultimately finished the job with Cullen.
Some things I learned in the process:
1) Is the person pitching my business actually going to be the one doing the development? Or do they farm it out to more junior people who then require a lot of my supervision and take longer to finish the project?
2) Do we both have a sense of urgency for my project? Or do they fit me in while working part time and taking vacations thereby delaying my project's completion?
3) Are they committed to understanding my business and giving me a quality end deliverable? Or, are they solely focused on billable hours, i.e. billing for time worked even if they are not giving me a bug-free, well-designed, meeting-my-original-requirements solution?
I had a great experience with Cullen. He took the time up front to really understand my business, operations, and QuickBase wish-list. And then walked me through possible solutions. He did not charge me for this initial consultation, and it was thorough.
I could tell he really knew his stuff, and Cullen was the person who actually built out QuickBase. So he required no supervision from me and just occasional feedback/check ins to make sure he was meeting my requirements. He also worked full time and communicated up front his other project commitments.
Lastly, Cullen has a lot of integrity and really cared about my business and delivered a quality solution. I would hire him again and recommend him highly.

THIS IS YOUR GUY

By
Matthew Post |
April 04, 2012

This partner review is for: Crystal Bay Solutions LLC

We needed a consultant to assist on building a Global Data Base for our product line that includes everything from factory quotes, to material break downs, ect. Whatever challenge we throw at them, they help find a solution. These solutions come from a clear understanding of how business run and what retailers expect.